Aftermath
by Paige242
Summary: In the wake of the big revelation, Zac and Mimmi finally talk. Post 2x13 (Spoiler Warning)


"_I am not your brother…I don't want anything to do with you."_

It had been nearly three days since Zac had said those hurtful words.

Three long, terrible, days.

Despite her friends' reassurances, and her attempts to accept that he had been angry and overwhelmed, Mimmi could not suppress the deep sadness that had filled her since that moment.

Ondina had tried to tell her countless times that he had not meant what he had said— that he had just lashed out because he needed time to come to terms with the shocking revelation about his origins. _"He'll come around,"_ She had said warmly. "_And he'll realize how lucky he is to have an amazing sister like you_."

But, no matter how hard she tried, Mimmi could not forget the anger in his voice…or the hatred in his eyes.

She knew that he had meant every word. He wanted nothing to do with her, and he certainly did not want to be her brother.

He had not reached out since he had stormed away that evening and no one, not even Evie, had managed to speak to him.

The girl sighed as she continued to place her potion bottles back onto one of the shelves in Rita's grotto. The others were out for a swim at the moment, and she was grateful for a bit of time to herself. Their attempts at comfort during the past few days were much appreciated, but her companions could not possibly understand what she was going through. They didn't know what it was like…and for the umpteenth time in her life, Mimmi felt like an outcast.

She had always been different—she was the strange northern mermaid who had been (hesitantly) allowed to stay with a southern pod. Thanks to her mother, she was far more powerful than most and, even though no one ever said it out loud, she knew that many mermaids feared her strength and kept a safe distance. Ondina had always been the main exception, and Mimmi was happy to have at least one close friend, but even she could not make her feel completely at home. Mimmi could still see the others' starring at her—flinching when she showed even a modest display of magic.

As much as she loved it, Mako had never totally been home.

She could not, in fact, remember what "home" felt like. She had been born in the north, and she could recall a few early memories of that place. But for as long as she could remember, she had been the odd one out in a strange and foreign environment.

But that night in the cave, for a few brief minutes, she had felt a glimmer of hope.

As shocking as it was, finding out that Zac was her brother had temporarily filled her with a profound sense of comfort. Even if no one in the Mako pod could truly understand her, she had been certain that he would. They would both be out of place there, but at least they would be out of place together.

There would finally be someone who understood.

She would finally have a family.

But Zac's rejection had quickly crushed those dreams. They may have been related by blood but, as Rita had reminded her, he had still grown up on land and he was not keen to be part of her world. Apparently, he was okay with being an accidental merman but he wasn't so keen to be the real deal.

To some extent, she could understand that. Sure, she had managed to take on human form—but finding out she actually _was_ human would be a very unwelcomed shock.

That's why she had, reluctantly, given him time and distance. She had wanted nothing more than to run after him when he had fled the grotto that day, but Ondina's comforting hand on her shoulder had brought her back to reality.

The time was not right.

Zac had not been ready to talk.

And perhaps he never would be…

After placing the last of her bottles back on the shelf, Mimmi ran a hand through her dark hair. She always played with her hair when she was anxious, and it was little wonder that it had become a tangled mess during the past few days.

She had been thinking about Zac constantly, and it took a great deal of self-control not to seek him out. She was not a hot-head—quite the opposite, really—but she knew that if she faced him again before he was ready, his anger and emotion might overwhelm her. And she did not want to do something that she would regret.

Glancing towards the passageway which led to the sea, she briefly wondered if a swim would help soothe her. She had said no to a swim with the others, but maybe a solo trip to clear her mind would be helpful.

Before she could make a decision, however, the sounds of footsteps snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned quickly, her eyes widening as she saw the last person she had expected.

"Mimmi? Can we…talk?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zac wasn't sure what possessed him to do it.

Ever since "the revelation" and his emotional talk with his so-called parents, he had felt no desire to leave the boathouse or interact with the outside world. He had missed two days of school and hadn't even returned any of Evie's calls or texts.

Zac knew that people were worried about him, and it felt a bit childish to simply ignore their attempts to reach out, but he had simply been unable to muster the strength. Ever since that evening in the cave it had felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

Every breath brought a fresh wave of nausea.

He didn't know how to function.

He didn't know who he was.

It had been nearly eight months since the incident in the moon pool had turned his life upside down. And, while he had come to terms with what he had become, it was proving much harder to accept that his entire life had been a lie. His parents weren't his real parents, and he now knew that he hadn't become a merman on that fateful night…he had become himself.

To some, that might have seemed like a minor difference. At the end of the day, he still had a tail and still had to avoid the water. He would have been a merman now, even if he hadn't been born that way. In practice, nothing had changed.

But things were, somehow, much different now.

When he had first met Erik, he had been filled with awe—in his mind, this was the first real merman he had ever met, and the other boy had seemed so different to him. He had just been Zac Blakely—a regular guy who had, by accident and magic, acquired a tail. Erik, on the other hand, was a whole other being.

But now, Zac knew that he was what he had once seen as foreign and different. He had been born with a tail to an (apparently) very powerful mermaid. He wasn't even from that hemisphere. And he certainly wasn't a regular guy.

What had once felt like a game now felt like a crushing reality, and he still wasn't sure if he would ever really be able to accept it.

He wasn't sure if he would be able to accept himself…

Somehow, he had managed to avoid the water for almost three days. His body felt achy and dry, and it took a lot of self-control to ignore the inviting lapping of waves outside his window, but the thought of seeing himself with a tail had been too much to handle since that night. Perhaps it was delusion or denial, but keeping up a human masquerade was the only way that he felt he could cope.

He hadn't wanted to see any of his friends and, more than that, he hadn't wanted to see himself.

Which was why he wasn't quite sure what had possessed him to walk across town to Rita's house that morning. He had woken up after yet another restless sleep and, after pacing around his boathouse for nearly an hour, he had huffily stormed out of the door. At first, he had simply felt possessed—he wasn't sure where he was going, and he wasn't sure why.

But after a few minutes, he had realized that his feet were taking him towards Rita's. Despite his inner hesitation, he had not been able to stop and he supposed that, on some subconscious level, that was where he needed to be.

There had been no response when he knocked on the door but, feeling reckless, he had used magic to unlock it and made his way inside. He hadn't shouted out anyone's name, and even after he was in the house, he wasn't sure who he was hoping to see.

The logical part of his mind had told him to turn around and head back home. Isolation was safe. Isolation meant that he could hide from his problems. And that was what he wanted, right?

But something inside him made him press on.

Making his way to the library, he had pulled the camouflaged lever and began his descent down into the grotto, trying to ignore how comforting smell of sea water was.

For a second, he had thought that the place was empty but, as his eyes began to adjust, he could see a lone figure in the corner near the potion shelf.

His heart rate instantly increasing, he began to speak as soon as she had turned around.

"Mimmi? Can we…talk."

Suddenly, he knew why he had come.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mimmi drew a shaky breath as she watched Zac slowly make his way down the stairs. She had not expected to see him there and, caught off guard, she wasn't sure what to say.

He looked pale and dishevelled—and his demeanour was so unlike the confidant boy she had met a few months ago. She could still sense an aura of anger from him, but there was something else there as well. Vulnerability...hope, perhaps. She wasn't quite sure, but she suddenly felt more optimistic than she had when they had last been face to face.

"Of course we can talk." She replied gently, her eyes following her brother as he took a seat on the grotto's main ledge.

Mimmi wished that she could run over and wrap him in a warm hug—it certainly looked like he could use one—but she knew that she had to be cautious. It was a miracle that he had even come here after the way he had left things the other day. He had declared that he had wanted nothing to do with them—especially her—and yet here he was, seemingly ready to talk. She did not want to put that at risk.

Instead, she took a seat on a stool a few metres away and waited patiently for him to speak.

After a long pause, he finally did.

"I…I don't really know why I came." He began, his voice quieter and shakier than she was used to. "I just felt like I needed to all of a sudden. I don't even know if I was looking for you. But now that I'm here I think that, maybe, I'll feel better once we talk about a few things."

Mimmi smiled, not surprised (considering their deep connection) that he had felt the same desire she had. Their bond really was difficult to deny.

"Okay," she replied with a nod. "I'm happy to tell you anything I can."

The boy let out a deep breath and nodded back before running his hand nervously through his dark hair.

"Okay." Zac repeated, his brown eyes locked on the red stone floor. "I talked to my…the Blakely's." He started reluctantly. "It turns out they did adopt me, when I was about three months old. But they don't know where I'm from. And they weren't planning to tell me until I turned eighteen."

Mimmi could hear the emotion in his voice, and she knew that it could not have been easy to find out that your parent's had been keeping a major secret from you your entire life.

"And that doesn't necessarily mean that we're…you know…that everything else is true." Zac continued quickly, his eyes briefly catching hers before darting away once more.

The girl resisted the very strong urge to let out a frustrated huff. She could understand that this was all very difficult for him, but she could not see how he could still deny their connection. The mermaid council had told them the truth, there was no doubt that they looked like siblings, and they could practically read each other's minds. If that wasn't enough to convince him, she wasn't sure if anything could.

But she was willing, for now, to let him go through his process.

He'd have to accept it. Eventually.

Before Mimmi could think of a carefully worded response, Zac piped up one more.

"What was your mother like? And what happened to her?"

His words were fast, and quiet, and Mimmi could tell that it had been difficult for him to force them out.

She felt her heart rate increase, and she was unable to hold back a slight smile.

If he was curious about their mother, then part of him had clearly accepted the situation more than he was willing to acknowledge.

"I don't remember too much." She began honestly, her mind straining to pull together the few early memories that she still had. "I remember her long, dark hair. And I know that she was one of the most powerful mermaids in the world."

Zac nodded, and Mimmi could tell that he was hanging on to her every word.

I really don't know all of the details, but I know that most of the others in our pod were wary of her. No one else ever seemed to say much to her. Or me. And I always got the sense that she had done something that the others' disapproved of." Mimmi paused and glanced towards her brother before continuing. "I suspect," she began reluctantly, "that it had something to do with ou— my conception."

Zac furrowed his brow and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She could tell that he wanted to know more but could not quite find the words to ask what he desired.

"You might know this already." She continued. "But merpeople can be conceived in two ways. Before the great war, we mated much like humans. But once mermaids and mermen drifted apart, we had to resort to magic. Nowadays, most mermaids are hatched from eggs fertilized by the magic of the moon pool. But it is still possible for mermaids and mermen to mate in a traditional way, and for a mermaid to carry the child herself. My mother believed, correctly, that there was a better chance of conceiving a powerful child in the traditional manner, and that's how she had me—even though it is forbidden."

"I never met my father." She said softly, anticipating his next question. "But I heard rumours that he was a powerful merman from the pacific."

She heard Zac take in a deep breath and she gave him a minute to process what she had said. She wondered how much he had thought this through—judging by the look on his face, he had not yet begun to contemplate all of the details.

After a long pause, Zac finally spoke.

"Do…do you remember hearing anything about another child?" His voice was barely a whisper, and she could not ignore the pained expression on his face. "I mean, if there was another one, you would have heard people talking about it, right? And you'd remember him."

Mimmi tried to push back the glint of anger bubbling inside of her. Despite her best efforts, she could not help but feel a little bit hurt. He was still refusing to acknowledge who he was, and she could tell that he was hoping to find proof that he was not related to her in any way.

There was no denying that that stung.

She had been so happy to discover that he existed. And she couldn't fully comprehend why the thought of having her as a sister was so detestable for him.

"I was only four when I left that pod." She replied, her tone less gentle then before. "Our mother disappeared, and they shipped me down south as quickly as they could. I always suspected that something I didn't fully understand was going on but no, I don't remember you." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I didn't know I had a brother until three days ago—and, like I said then, it is difficult for me to come to terms with too. It's a shock. But it's a _good_ shock. At least to me. I've never felt like I had a family and—"

"We still don't know anything for sure!"

Zac cut her off in mid-sentence and Mimmi shrunk backwards, surprised by his loud outburst. Before she could respond, he continued, his voice quaking with anger.

"Sure, I am adopted, but that doesn't mean we're related. And it certainly doesn't mean that I'm a merman. You don't even have any memories of me!" He continued, standing up from his spot on the ledge. "I should never have come here. I should have known that you'd still be on about your delusional—"

"Don't you DARE call me delusional!" Mimmi retorted, jumping up from her seat. People had been calling her weird her entire life, and Zac had just pinched the wrong nerve. "You can't honestly stand there and deny our connection! We've been sharing visions ever since we met! And look at us," she continued, gesturing between them. "We definitely look related. In fact, I'm pretty sure the reason I don't remember you is because we were born at the same time. I think we're twins! But our mother had to hide you on land because mermen aren't allowed to live with mermaid pods. We barely got to have any time together, but I always knew that something was missing. And I know you feel the same way too!"

Zac stared at her for a minute, aghast by both her comments and her uncharacteristic forcefulness.

She took a moment to regain her composure before looking up to meet the gaze of the boy who had always looked so familiar.

"Think what you want." He huffed, his arms folded across his chest. "I'm not your twin. I'm just a land boy that got unlucky. As soon as we find a cure, I can go back to normal and all of this will all just be a bad dream!"

Mimmi felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, and her mouth fell open as she saw Zac turn to walk away.

This had not gone as she had hoped and, it seemed, that she had only pushed him further away.

He was wrong. She knew it. And deep down, he knew it too. He just needed to face the facts.

Suddenly feeling both overwhelmed and panicked, Mimmi's eyes caught sight of a glass of water on a nearby table. Without a moment of hesitation, she flicked her wrist, sending the contents hurling towards her stubborn brother.

As the water splashed against the back of his legs, Zac turned around abruptly, his eyes flashing with surprise and anger.

Moments later, he collapsed onto the floor, his blue tail flapping against the cold stone floor.

"You're not a land boy." She said firmly, her face set with determination. "You've always been a merman, and you've always been my brother."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Frantic and more than a little angry, Zac turned himself over, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of the stone grinding against his scales.

Mimmi's actions had surprised him—he didn't know her well, but she had always been so soft spoken and level headed. Until today, that was. Clearly, she was just as riled up and on edge as he was that afternoon.

"What the hell, Mimmi!?" He snapped, propping himself up against the ledge before trying to brush some of the excess water off of his tail. The sooner he dried off, the sooner he could get out of there. "You had no right to do that!"

He knew that it had been a mistake to venture outside his house.

She shrugged and folded her arms as she looked down at him, a slight smirk on her face. He was struck, for a moment, by how much she looked like him when he made a similar expression.

"You needed a reality check." She replied, her voice much calmer than it had been before. "_This_ is your true form, and _this _is how you were born. No spell will ever make you human." She paused, looking away as he scowled up at her. "Plus, I could tell that you were parched. You've been avoiding the water, haven't you?"

Zac's eyes narrowed and he let out a disgruntled snort. He hated how easy it was for her to read him. No one, not even Evie or his parents, had ever been able to un-code him as well as she could. It was pretty damn unnerving.

"Yes." He snapped, trying his best to look defiant even though he was admitting that she was right. "And I have been doing just fine without it."

Mimmi scoffed, and Zac knew instantly that she could see through his lie.

"You weren't fine." She countered, shaking her head. "The second you walked in here I could tell that you weren't feeling well. We're merpeople—if we're not in the water for at least part of the day, we start to dry out. And," she continued, her tone more serious, "if you deny yourself for too long, you'll die of depravation."

Zac froze. He had never been told that before but, if they way he had been feeling for the past few days was any indication, he was pretty sure that she was right. He had gone swimming almost every day of his life, even before he had changed—the water had always lured him in. And, just a few weeks ago, when he had asked Evie how she felt when she stayed out of the water all day he was surprised to hear her say that she felt totally fine.

That wasn't the case for him. If he went more than 24 hours without contact with the ocean, especially lately, he felt weak and nauseous.

He tried not to dwell on the implications of that.

"Whatever." He muttered, unable to come up with a good comeback.

He knew that he was acting like a petulant child, but he simply couldn't help it.

As angry as this conversation had made him, a small part of him knew that some of it was starting to sink in. And that made him feel afraid, and alone. He wished that he really could be a child again—he wished that he could pretend to be normal. As the old saying went, ignorance was bliss.

But, as he looked down at the blue tail which had replaced his legs, he knew that ignorance was not an option.

As much as he hated to admit it, Mimmi was right.

He felt better this way. He felt like _himself_. For the first time in days, his head had cleared as his breathing had returned to normal.

The world around him suddenly seemed calmer.

"Look, I'm sorry that I caught you off guard—but you weren't listening to reason." Mimmi said, crossing her legs to sit down on the floor next to him.

He looked up to meet her gaze, trying (and failing) to ignore how familiar she looked to him. Aside from her blue eyes, there were so many similarities. Their cheekbones, their lips, the tone of their skin and the way their noses wrinkled when they were angry.

As silly as it sounded, it suddenly felt as if he was seeing her for the first time.

He had always thought he was an only child and it was unnerving to see so much of himself in someone else.

Unable to face it any longer, Zac turned away.

She was right, and he knew it. He had probably known it all along.

It would take a lot more time to get used to, and the thought of it all still overwhelmed him, but Zac realized that being a stubborn git probably wasn't going to get him anywhere at this point.

The facts were literally starring him in the face.

This wasn't easy for her to come to terms with either, and he didn't need to make it harder than it already was.

As he took a deep breath, he arrived at a decision.

"I'll forgive you eventually. I guess." He muttered, brushing a bit more of the water off of his tail. It was cold in the grotto, and the liquid was not drying quickly. "Sisters are supposed to be a pain in the ass, right?"

He could sense that she was smiling and he felt a slight tug at the corners of his mouth as well.

_Sister. _

The word felt weird to say, but he somehow knew that it was right.

He had a _sister_.

And he didn't have to figure things out alone.

"Here, let me help." Mimmi said softly, reaching out her hand and using her powers to speed up the drying process. "Just promise you're not going to try to run away again."

Zac snorted before giving a soft chuckle. "Promise."

Moments later, his legs reappeared and they both leaned back against the ledge, the tension of the last few minutes slowly fading away.

His body was still tingling and he marvelled at how much more alive he felt now that he had spent a few moments in merman form.

"So…" Zac started, breaking the brief silence. Now that he had calmed down, he realized that there were still so many more questions to be asked. So much more that had been gnawing away at him for the past few days.

"Our—I mean, Nerissa…she just, left? You don't know where she went?"

"Nope." Mimmi replied with a sigh. "I haven't seen her since I was four, and no one told me what happened. I am pretty sure she is alive just…banished. I used to dream that she would come find me, and take me back to the north—but I gave up on that a long time ago."

Zac nodded, his eyes falling back towards the floor. As angry as he was at his adoptive parents for lying to him, he felt even worse for Mimmi. At least he'd had people who had loved and raised him—Mimmi had been uprooted and raised in a community that didn't fully accept her.

He couldn't imagine how hard that must have been, especially at first.

But, on the other hand, he felt a slight pang of jealously at the thought that she'd at least some memories of the mysterious woman. She had kept Mimmi around while she could—she had wanted to raise her.

He, apparently, had been cast aside at birth.

It hurt to feel so utterly unwanted.

"At least she kept you." He said before he could stop himself. "I mean…I know if must have been harder for you, losing her like that." He corrected himself quickly. "But I can't help but feel…"

"It's okay," Mimmi said softly before placing a comforting hand on his broad shoulder. "You're allowed to be upset too."

He nodded, grateful for her understanding.

"I'm willing to bet that she didn't want to give you up." She said gently. "But you know what things are like between mermaids and mermen. Mermen are never born to mermaid pods when using the moon pool—but since we were conceived in the natural way, it became a possibility. She would have had to hide you from the pod, and giving you to a foster family would have been the only way to keep you safe."

Zac drew a deep breath and nodded again. He had a feeling that she was right. As frustrating as the whole mermaid-merman conflict was, it did bring him some comfort to know that the circumstances had probably been out of his birth mother's control.

"Do you…" he began hesitantly, not sure how comfortable Mimmi was talking about such matters. He didn't want to upset her by dredging up old feelings—but if he couldn't talk to her, he wasn't sure where else he could go.

"Do you think she is ever going to come looking for us? If they sent her away against her will, she probably wants to. And—" He paused, looking towards her. "If she is as powerful as people say, they shouldn't she be able to locate us pretty easily?"

Mimmi turned away, and he could see a bit of redness in her eyes. He waited patiently for her to regain her composure.

"I don't know." She said softly. "But I hope so."

The girl drew a deep breath and, after another slight hesitation, wrapped her arms around him. He stiffed for a moment before relaxing and returning her embrace.

This whole sister thing was going to take some getting used to, but he had to admit that he was already beginning to feel protective.

He wanted to make her pain go away.

"I'm glad we found each other." Mimmi said with a sad smile. "It feels like a good first step."

Zac nodded in agreement as he held her close. It was all so bizarre. So mind numbingly crazy.

But for the first time in a long time, he felt content.

"Sorry for acting like an idiot. Forgive me?" He asked, running his hand through his sister's dark hair.

She smiled.

"Always."

There was no telling what the future might bring. Maybe Nerissa would find them. Maybe they'd find their father. Or maybe they wouldn't.

But at the very least, they would always have each other.

He knew, finally, that this was who he was meant to be.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_A/N- I had to write something after that great 13__th__ episode! Let me know what you think!_


End file.
